Marika Rökk
Encyclopedia
Marika Rökk was an Austrian-German singer, dancer and actress of Hungarian descent, who became famous in German film
s, notably in the Nazi
era.
cabaret. After a tour that led her to the Broadway
and several cities in the United States, she came to the United Kingdom where she acted in her first film, Why Sailors Leave Home
(1930) directed by Monty Banks
, starring Leslie Fuller
.
In 1934, Rökk was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG
(UFA) in Germany, where she became one of the most famous filmstars of the time, performing in operetta
movies like Leichte Kavallerie
, Der Bettelstudent
or Gasparone
together with Johannes Heesters
. She had her final breakthrough with a double role in Kora Terry
, a 1940 film directed by her future husband Georg Jacoby
with several dance interludes quite revealing at that time. In the same year, Rökk appeared in the propaganda
film Wunschkonzert
by Eduard von Borsody
(as herself), followed by her performance in Georg Jacoby's Women Are Better Diplomats
(Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten, UFA's first Agfacolor
motion picture) in 1941, together with Willy Fritsch
.
After World War II, she received a profession ban
, but was rehabilitated in 1947 and could continue her movie career. In 1948 she was among the first recipients of the German Bambi
media award. Rökk became one of Europe's most famous operetta singers, performing on stage until 1986.
She was married to Georg Jacoby from 1940 until his death in 1964, and to Hungarian actor Fred Raul
from 1968 until he died in 1985. She is the mother of actress Gabriele Jacoby.
Rökk died of a heart attack
in Baden bei Wien
, Austria.
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
s, notably in the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
era.
Life and work
Rökk was born in Cairo, Egypt, the daughter of the Hungarian architect Eduard Rökk and his wife Maria Karoly. She spent her early childhood in Budapest, before in 1924 her family moved to Paris. Here she learned to dance and starred as a dancer with the "Hoffmann Girls" at the Moulin RougeMoulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.The Moulin Rouge is...
cabaret. After a tour that led her to the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and several cities in the United States, she came to the United Kingdom where she acted in her first film, Why Sailors Leave Home
Why Sailors Leave Home
Why Sailors Leave Home is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Peter Bernard and Eve Gray. A British sailor on shore leave in the Middle East ends up being mistaken for a Sheikh.-Cast:...
(1930) directed by Monty Banks
Monty Banks
Montague Banks was a comedian and film director. In the 1920s, he worked in Hollywood, starring in many silent short comedies and in the feature-length action thriller Play Safe...
, starring Leslie Fuller
Leslie Fuller
Leslie Fuller was a British comedy film actor. He was married to the actress Nancy Bates.Albert Leslie Fuller was born in 1888 at 14 Pollard Row, Bethnal Green, London, although many biographies wrongly state Margate, as he had a lifelong association with this seaside town. His father was Albert...
.
In 1934, Rökk was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
(UFA) in Germany, where she became one of the most famous filmstars of the time, performing in operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
movies like Leichte Kavallerie
Leichte Kavallerie
Leichte Kavallerie is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé, with a libretto by Karl Costa. It was first performed in the Carltheater, Vienna on 21 March 1866....
, Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on Les noces de Fernande by Victorien Sardou and The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton...
or Gasparone
Gasparone
Gasparone is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The libretto was later revised by Ernst Steffan and Paul Knepler...
together with Johannes Heesters
Johannes Heesters
Johan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters is a Dutch actor, singer and entertainer with a -year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. In Germany and Austria, Heesters is mainly known for his acting career...
. She had her final breakthrough with a double role in Kora Terry
Kora Terry
Kora Terry is a 1940 German drama film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Will Quadflieg and Josef Sieber.-Cast:*Marika Rökk ... Kora Terry / Mara Terry* Will Quadflieg ... Michael Varany* Josef Sieber ... Karel Tobias - gen. Tobs...
, a 1940 film directed by her future husband Georg Jacoby
Georg Jacoby
Georg Jacoby was a German film director and screenwriter. He was married to Marika Rökk from 1940 until his death; the actress Gabriele Jacoby is their daughter.-Selected filmography:...
with several dance interludes quite revealing at that time. In the same year, Rökk appeared in the propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
film Wunschkonzert
Wunschkonzert
Wunschkonzert is a 1940 German drama propaganda film by Eduard von Borsody. After Die grosse Liebe, it was the most popular film of wartime Germany, reaching the second highest gross.-Background:...
by Eduard von Borsody
Eduard von Borsody
Eduard von Borsody was an Austrian cameraman, film editor, film director and screenplay writer.- Life :Eduard von Borsody began his film career as a cameraman...
(as herself), followed by her performance in Georg Jacoby's Women Are Better Diplomats
Women Are Better Diplomats
Woman Are Better Diplomats is a 1941 German musical comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Willy Fritsch and Aribert Wäscher. It was based on a novel by Hans Flemming.-Cast:...
(Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten, UFA's first Agfacolor
Agfacolor
thumb|An Agfacolor slide dating from the early 1940s. While the colors themselves hold up well after 60 years, damages visible include dust and [[Newton's rings]].Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany...
motion picture) in 1941, together with Willy Fritsch
Willy Fritsch
Willy Fritsch was a German theater and film actor, the popular leading man in German silent motion-pictures.-Biography:...
.
After World War II, she received a profession ban
Profession ban
Profession ban is law, laws or practice, which means that a person is hindered to perform one or more occupations. There is also another meaning of the term profession ban, namely: profession ban may prevail even if a ban does not exist...
, but was rehabilitated in 1947 and could continue her movie career. In 1948 she was among the first recipients of the German Bambi
Bambi (prize)
The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
media award. Rökk became one of Europe's most famous operetta singers, performing on stage until 1986.
She was married to Georg Jacoby from 1940 until his death in 1964, and to Hungarian actor Fred Raul
Fred Raul
Fred Raul , born Alois Greschitz, was an Austrian actor of Hungarian origin, best known for his marriage in 1968 to actress Marika Rökk....
from 1968 until he died in 1985. She is the mother of actress Gabriele Jacoby.
Rökk died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Baden bei Wien
Baden bei Wien
-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...
, Austria.
Awards
- 1948, 1968, 1987, 1990, 1998 BambiBambi (prize)The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
- 1981 Deutscher FilmpreisDeutscher FilmpreisThe Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
, Special Award for Outstanding Contributions to German Cinema - 1987 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Actress
Filmography
- Why Sailors Leave HomeWhy Sailors Leave HomeWhy Sailors Leave Home is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Peter Bernard and Eve Gray. A British sailor on shore leave in the Middle East ends up being mistaken for a Sheikh.-Cast:...
(1930) - Csókolj meg, édes! (1932)
- Kiss Me SergeantKiss Me SergeantKiss Me Sergeant is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Gladys Cruickshank and Gladys Frazin. In India, a British soldier saves the jewelled eye of a sacred idol...
(1932) - Kísértetek vonata (1933)
- Leichte KavallerieLeichte KavallerieLeichte Kavallerie is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé, with a libretto by Karl Costa. It was first performed in the Carltheater, Vienna on 21 March 1866....
(1935) - Heißes Blut (1936)
- Der BettelstudentDer BettelstudentDer Bettelstudent is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on Les noces de Fernande by Victorien Sardou and The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton...
(1936) - Und du mein Schatz fährst mit (1937)
- Karussell (1937)
- GasparoneGasparoneGasparone is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The libretto was later revised by Ernst Steffan and Paul Knepler...
(1937) - Eine Nacht im Mai (1938)
- Tanzendes Herz (1939)
- Vadrózsa (1939)
- Es war eine rauschende Ballnacht (1939)
- Hallo Janine! (1939)
- Kora Terry (1940)
- WunschkonzertWunschkonzertWunschkonzert is a 1940 German drama propaganda film by Eduard von Borsody. After Die grosse Liebe, it was the most popular film of wartime Germany, reaching the second highest gross.-Background:...
(1940) - Zirkusblut (1940)
- Tanz mit dem Kaiser (1941)
- Hab mich lieb (1942)
- Die Frau meiner Träume (1944)
- Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (1941)
- Fregola (1949)
- Sensation in San Remo (1951)
- Kind der Donau (1950)
- Die Czardasfürstin (1951)
- Maske in BlauMaske in BlauMaske in Blau is a grand operetta in two parts with music by Fred Raymond to a libretto by Heinz Hentschke and Günther Schwenn. The work had its premiere under Werner Schmidt-Boelke on 27 September 1937 at the Metropol Theater in Berlin...
(1953) - Die geschiedene Frau (1953)
- Nachts im grünen Kakadu (1957)
- Das gab's nur einmal (1958)
- Bühne frei für Marika (1958)
- Die Nacht vor der Premiere (1959)
- Mein Mann, das Wirtschaftswunder (1961)
- Heute gehn wir bummeln (1961)
- Hochzeitsnacht im ParadiesHochzeitsnacht im ParadiesHochzeitsnacht im Paradis is an operetta in eight scenes. Book by Heinz Hentschke, lyrics by Gunther Schwenn and music by Friedrich Schröder. It premiered in Berlin at the Metropol Theater September 24, 1942. It was filmed several times in German and several other languages....
(1962) - Die FledermausDie FledermausDie Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(1962) - Der letzte Walzer (1973)
- Schloß Königswald (1988)